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Damascus
"In those days, Damascus was a place of hedonism and cruelty, it's true glory not yet realized." - The Gospel of Thomas, Chapter 4 Damascus is the capital of the Kingdom of Damascus and the place where belief in the god known as Yegar-Sahadutha began. Because of the many nuclear silos surrounding the town, it was hit hard during the Great War.' '''However, it quickly bounced back and became a thriving city in the Arkansas River Wasteland area. 'History''' Pre-War In the Pre-War years, Damascus was a small town that straddled the border of Faulkner and Van Buren counties in the state of Arkansas (later part of the Texas Commonwealth). Following the invention of the Titan Missle, the US Government built several silos near to Damascus. In 1980, one of the silos featured a freak accident in which the rocket fuel stored within the missile exploded. Fortunately, the nuclear material remained safe within its capsule. The program was not discontinued (in fact is was expanded) in spite of this malfunction. During the 21st century as the Cold War with China grew more and more heated the United States placed several more missile silos around the Central Arkansas area and expanded the Little Rock Air Base in preparation for the nuclear war they were sure was to occur. This led to slight growth in the population of Damascus as many more Army and Air Force personnel were needed close to the site of the silos. The War On October 23rd, 2077 the Great War began. The silos around Damascus opened and their missiles were launched. However, continuing a trend set in 1980, malfunctions and human error led to several of the missiles failing to launch. The Central Arkansas area was also hit with around 20 Chinese nuclear weapons during the war. Post-War (2077-2104) Over the next few decades, little happened as America was wracked with the ecological repercussions of nuclear war. Refugees from Conway, Little Rock, Pine Bluff, and other, larger cities to the south passed through. Some settled down in the mostly ruined town. In 2091 the town elected its first mayor, Joseph Temple. Joseph is credited as being the person who truly put Damascus on the map. He and his gang of "Deputies" kept the more violent raiders out of town and constructed the corrugated steel wall that still surrounds the town. By 2097, Damascus was one of the few settlements in the area. It had a bar/brothel in the form of Milo's Bar & Grill and a general store. Coming of the Prophets (2104) In 2104 a prospector digging around in one of the missile silos accidentally detonated the nuclear warhead of a missile that had failed to launch in the Great War over three decades beforehand. Many of the citizens of Damascus were killed by the fallout that swept through the area, including the aged mayor/sheriff Joseph Temple. In the chaos, Milo, owner of the bar and grill and local pimp and drug vendor, rallied the remaining Deputies and his thugs and declared himself the new mayor of Damascus. Three days following the accidental detonation, two men walked into town from the west. They were covered in hideous scars and lesions, their skin sunburnt, and their eyes slightly glossed over. Their names were Jackson and Thomas. Jackson had never before visited the town, but Thomas was known to the people of Damascus as a merchant who brought them trinkets and goods from around the area. However, they did not recognize the Thomas who had entered their little town. Gone were his days of drinking and whoring in Milo's Bar & Grill. Instead, Thomas and his companion stood in the town square and began to proselytize to the citizens. They spoke of how sinful the townspeople were for allowing Milo to operate his business in town. They condemned excess drinking, the use of recreational chemicals, "wanton sexuality" and wealth hoarding. They claimed that the god they called "Yegar-Sahadutha" had punished the world for these crimes by "sinking the world in fire and brimstone" and had punished Damascus and themselves for ignoring this lesson. Many people in the town, disheartened by recent events, took to their message. Milo, however, did not take kindly to their message. He first rallied the town into a fervor and drove the prophets out of town. Several days later, after they continued to pester "his" town with their message, he sent several of his thugs to try and kill Thomas and Jackson in their makeshift camp just outside of town. However, the two prophets were saved by a wandering traveler from the north in a Vault 90 jumpsuit. Emboldened by this victory against their enemy, Jackson and Thomas rallied their supporters and the traveler and assaulted the Bar and Grill. Many were killed, but eventually, the prophets won and Milo and some of his thugs were hung in the town square. Theocracy (2104-2133) Over the few decades, the two prophets led Damascus to prosper. Despite their opposition to the things that helped many wasteland towns grow (drinking, gambling, prostitution, etc) Damascus prospered as it had under Joseph Temple. First, they built a large temple in the middle of town dedicated to Yegar-Sahadutha. They then set about expanding their religious mythos. They introduced an evil deity to their pantheon; Moloch. Moloch was the god of vice. His influence was felt anywhere where dice were rolled or money was piled. Any enemies of the Prophets were said to be agents of Moloch, even Milo (retroactively). Thomas set about reorganizing the economy of Damascus from service to agriculture. He transformed the little farms that surrounded the town into large collective farms. All of the produce would go to Temple and from there it would be redistributed amongst each person evenly. Jackson created a small military of religious warriors who would protect the town and expand it. Jackson first led his warriors in brilliant defense of the town against the raiders who surrounded the town. He brought order to the land around Damascus and so many people began to flock to the area. This growth in population meant that expansion was necessary. Jackson led the Army of Yegar-Sahadutha in the conquest of two of the surrounding villages: Guy and Twin Groves. Kingdom (2133-) Jackson was slain in 2133 during a war with the Dale of Spring. While scouting with his personal guard, he was slain by one of his own advanced scouts, who had mistaken his party for a group of enemies. Determendnot to fail in their glorious leader's last effort, his warriors finished the campaign by conquering the Dale. Thomas was disheartened by the death of his closest friend and resigned from public life and service, spending his remaining years in seclusion, praying and meditating. He died in 2140. Before he left, however, Thomas declared that Jackson's second in command, a Captian Albert Hill, to rule the nation. Albert Hill was crowned as King Albert I following the end of the campaign. Since then the Hill Dynasty has ruled the Kingdom of Damascus admirably. King Albert I expanded the Kingdom to Gravesville and Publican. His son, King Albert II conquered Quitman. King Albert III focused his rule developing the infrastructure of the Kingdom and expanding its connections with other settlements in the Arkansas River Wasteland. Category:Places Category:Communities